Lise’s Second Departure

Skipping eight days, these are the last photos of daughter Lise’s visit. Neighbor Holly and I dropped her off at the airport at 6:00 pm. About five or six hours later her flight was canceled because there had been a storm in Atlanta. The storm stalled over the city and dumped hail, disabling a number of airplanes. Because it was a natural disaster, the airline did not have to provide a room in a hotel for her. She rented a car and came back here. After a few hours of sleep, she walked to the stop sign with me.

We had a light breakfast and shopped for a new suitcase for her. She had borrowed one of mine and felt she should replace it with a sturdier one. That meant she had to repack everything and check the weight of each piece. Her efficiency was amazing to watch.

She stowed the heavy bags in the car.. Although she had already done a day’s work, she looked fairly fresh as she headed for the airport. This time she will go through Newark instead of Atlanta. I don’t remember where she will land before getting her final flight to Copenhagen. Wherever it is, I hope everything will go smoothly.

Cackling at Videos

Daughter Lise and I came down gently after the wedding. Daughter Kate stayed another day and then broke her record time getting back to New Jersey. After about 13 hours of driving and a night’s sleep, she was at work at 7:15 the following morning.

Lise had done handyman things before the wedding, like fixing a toilet and replacing a broken doorknob to that bathroom. Guests didn’t have to dread going to an unsecured room! I had planned to change the water filter to the refrigerator, but thankfully I didn’t try to do it by myself. We pulled the heavy appliance to the middle of the room, and that’s when the fun began. There are people who can’t handle the thought of a mouse in the house. Lise is one of those. (For me, it’s big spiders.)

What neither of us thought about was the camera that is trained on the two doors into the kitchen. She thought of it the next day, and the gales of laughter began. She flipped through the cam videos showing us moving around the refrigerator, getting up and down off the floor, and shoving the fridge back in place. When Lise saw a dead mouse, she didn’t shriek or faint, but she did mutter quietly. I picked up the carcass with a tissue and put it in a small plastic container that I had washed the day before. As I tossed it in the kitchen garbage, I said, “If I’d known this was going to be a casket, I wouldn’t have washed it.”

The more we watched, the more we laughed. The decibels rose until we were cackling. It was an unholy noise that I hope none of the neighbors heard. There was no way we could stop until we couldn’t get enough breath to laugh more. Lise saved two of the clips. I hope she hid them, because they could be evidence that we should both be committed to the crazy house.

What a Wedding!

I loved grandson Nathaniel’s and Sarah’s wedding. They concentrated on family and friends, so that everyone felt the closeness. I’ve seen photos of weddings where there were up to twelve attendants, including a flower girl, ring bearer, bridesmaids and groomsmen. Not this one!The ceremony was held outside in a small garden surrounded by hedges and trees. Nate had his mother walk him to the arbor, followed by his dad. Sarah’s mother escorted her daughter down the aisle. She arranged Sarah’s dress, and took her bouquet before sitting with her family. They requested no photographs during the ceremony, so it was peaceful and reverent.

I was thrilled that Nathaniel asked to use my husband’s wedding band. He also wore John’s watch, which he’d had repaired. Kate had John’s ashes in a pendant, and BIL Thom wore one of John’s ties which had steam engines on it. There were probably other mementos present on the other side of the aisle.

The photographer worked quickly to get various groups posed with the bride and groom. Appetizers and drinks were served in another area outside. I was amused that the main soda was Cheerwine, a North Carolina product and Sarah’s favorite.

Inside, we had a lovely buffet brunch. Nathaniel asked if I had taken a bagel and lox, a New York specialty. I had and greatly enjoyed them with cream cheese and onions. There were casseroles and breads, bacon and eggs, fresh fruits, and banana bread with chocolate chips.

Neighbor Connie made wedding favors – exquisite boxes with candy inside. Sarah and Nate put together jars of honey that were sealed with a silver bee. The color-coordinated fans were in a basket at the entrance to the garden, where they would have been needed on a hot day.

The wedding cake was on display, and everyone admired it, knowing Nathaniel had made it. He had also baked the sheet cake that was served to us. Needless to say, it was delicious.

I enjoyed meeting and chatting with members of Sarah’s delightful family. They had drawn Nate into their circle and made him one of them years ago. Sarah has been one of us for a long time, too.

New Internet Provider

A new internet provider landed in the neighborhood, and we watched as they strung wire up and down the streets. Two neighbors signed up just before I did, and they have been pleased with their service for several days. Mine is being installed today. The first instruction I had was to move everything three feet away from the area they need to access inside the house. I was aware of the wires in John’s office, but I never paid much attention to them. I was shocked that the service came into the house behind the biggest bookcases we’ve ever owned. I removed a yard of vinyl records, storing them under my bed.

Electricity was supplied to the modem on the other side of the room. What a mess of wires was behind the small computer desk! I crawled under the big desk to that area to make sure I could move the small desk without pulling equipment off.

Did I Have a Stroke???

I felt fine after putting my groceries in the car, but something was wrong when I walked the cart back. One foot was dragging a bit. Walking was not coordinated. What on earth had happened? Had I just had a stroke? Would I be able to drive home? Just then I saw a squashed pile of pink goo near my car door. Bubble gum!! Dad-gum!! Luckily none of it came off on the car mat.

Another odd thing happened in my driveway. One leg was suddenly about half an inch longer than the other! After I got the food inside, I took off my sneakers. One had many more stones stuck on than the other – stones from the driveway. They were attached with superglue-gum.

I abhor people who spit out their gum without thinking of the consequences to others. Then I thought to be grateful that I hadn’t had a stroke. One little practice run was enough!

Frog Seems at Home

I checked the pump filter when the water seemed a bit slow. After removing a couple of leaves, I gently lowered the pump to the bottom. Just as I did, I saw a pair of eyes looking at me from the water. That was all that was visible. Frog jumped to the stone and hid his head in the plants. He stayed motionless, and so did I. Maybe, just maybe, he was getting used to me. I slowly moved away and didn’t see him again until the next day. He was sunning himself on a different stone, then jumped into the pool above the big one. Both times, I saw only one frog.

Public Worship

I have gone to church on Sunday via live stream since John died almost three years ago. It has worked well, only very occasionally being derailed by technical problems. A church friend laughed and said she could imagine my sitting in front of the screen, wearing my pajamas and sipping coffee. I set the record straight. I have always dressed as if I were actually going to church in person, complete with shoes and earrings. Today the “always” was destroyed. I was glad to worship privately. A long round of texting, for something that needed immediate attention, delayed me. Yes, I went to church wearing my sleep shirt and a sweat shirt, with slippers on my feet. I was sipping cardamom tea, not coffee.

The sermon titled “I’ll Pray for You” was based on John 17:20-26. Jesus prays for everyone!! It was a dynamic sermon that I will not forget.

Since I was attending a formal service without being dressed appropriately, I’ll show you what informal looked like. Though my hair was messy, my heart was in the right place, and I was singing at all the designated times. Everyone can be thankful that a streamed service does not show the attendees.

Jumping Frogs

Leaves from the kousa tree were blown down by the wind, and many went straight to the waterfall. I looked for the frogs before raking and assumed they were not there. I used a child’s rake to lift some leaves out of the lowest pool. As I raked the next higher pool, one that is shallower, the frogs jumped into the deep pool! There was no time to focus on them, so I’m not positive there were two, but I think there were. The water was murky, preventing my seeing them. I shall be much more careful the next time I approach the pools. It’s nice to know that the gentle waterfall has not scared the animals away. The water is still flowing at a little more than half it’s maximum rate.

Thank You, Neighbor Bob!

When the neighbors were together on my porch, I hoped no one would notice that I hadn’t cleaned the spot where I store garden tools. Everything else had been swept or wiped down. As I walked near the messy spot, Bob asked, “What is all this?”

I replied that those were my outside tools, and some probably should be thrown away. He said something comforting, like he could see some good things. I said, “I have to take everything out and clean it up. Maybe I’ll do it on a rainy day.”

Four days later as it began to rain, I thought of what I had said to Bob. That was the spur that got me out on the porch. I threw away one ratty pair of John’s gloves and moved two large rakes and some screening material to the garage. It wasn’t hard to clean the tray and sweep the floor, I just needed a nudge. Thank you, Bob, for inspiring me to put that corner to rights.

Tools stored — as neat as it’s going to get

Keeping Up

Keeping up with frogs and friends is not always easy. I thought I spotted Frog the day after I cleaned the waterfall pools, but I haven’t seen him since. He used to sun himself for hours on a warm stone, but then it wasn’t warm for days.

I was uneasy about a BFF, because I hadn’t heard from her for a few days. I got a message from her asking if I was OK for the same reason. I replied that I was fine. I realized she had not gotten my account of the neighborhood gathering for Memorial Day. Going back to my message to her, I sent her the screen shot of the photo. We were perplexed until I looked at the icons and saw there were two for her in different colors. Aha! I felt really stupid when I realized I sent two messages to her land line.

There was no way to copy those messages, so I put my phone beside the computer and typed the words to her. After catching up, I deleted her land line from my contact list.

To keep y’all up to date, here is a photo of us as we ate lunch on Memorial Day. J brought his grill through our side yards, and we decided to put it on the back porch because of threatening rain. He said later that he liked it, because people were out there talking to him as he cooked our hot dogs and hamburgers. No one realized he felt cut off when we stayed inside while he cooked. Years ago we began to bring our own meats and a side dish to share. That has worked well for us.

Several of us felt that the gathering was one of our best. We seemed closer, more in tune with each other. When Joyce moved her chair, we could see each other’s faces as we munched on desserts. I enjoyed it tremendously and was happy to have had a deadline to get the porch cleaned up after yellow pollen season. We shared leftovers with each other as the party broke up. It was a wonderful start to the outdoor eating season.

I forgot to mention that Bob led us in prayer before we ate, remembering Americans who gave their lives for our country and asking a blessing on the food. It was not an afterthought, as it was here.